The Arctic - Last Energy Frontier - Holland & Gardner

The HIll - Royal Dutch Shell and Great Bear Petroleum are preparing to explore new sources of Arctic oil this month. This provides American policymakers the opportunity to examine the long-term costs and benefits of oil production in the Arctic.

The HIll - Royal Dutch Shell and Great Bear Petroleum are preparing to explore new sources of Arctic oil this month. This provides American policymakers the opportunity to examine the long-term costs and benefits of oil production in the Arctic.

By Andrew Holland and Robert Gardner, American Security Project - 08/14/12 11:50 AM ETRoyal Dutch Shell and Great Bear Petroleum are preparing to explore new sources of Arctic oilthis month. This provides American policymakers the opportunity to examine the long-termcosts and benefits of oil production in the Arctic.American domestic oil production is currently surging. In 2011, the U.S. had the largest increasein oil production of any country outside of OPEC. Even so, continued increases in global oildemand mean that oil prices are likely to continue to rise. Only with high oil prices will it beprofitable to develop oil reserves at the ends of the earth. The Arctic is estimated to offer largerenergy resources than any other untapped region in the world.The U.S. has the potential to claim a region of the Arctic which may hold up to 29.96 billionbarrels of oil and 72 billion barrels of oil equivalent natural gas, according to the U.S. GeologicalSurvey. In 2011, Alaskan oil sold for an average price of $109.86 a barrel. At those prices,projected U.S. Arctic oil reserves could be worth almost $3.3 trillion. Such a windfall fromexpanded Alaskan oil production would bring rewards to business, Alaskan citizens, andgovernment coffers. Alaska has ahuge stake in the production of Arctic resources, as oil alreadyrepresents 90% of state tax revenue.

Developing Alaska’s resources

would reverse declining oil production in the Alaskan NorthSlope. Waning oil production from the Prudhoe Bay field threatens the shutdown of the TransAlaskan Pipeline System (TAPS), a huge infrastructure investment which has already beenexperiencing technical difficulties due to decreased throughput. TAPS is the only cost effective

way to transport the North Slope’s oil to an ice free port. TAPS transports around 11% of America’s domestically produced oil. However, declining oil volumesput the safe oper

ation of TAPS at risk. Unless production increases, TAPS will be forced to shut down.Although the benefits of extracting Arctic oil are large, the possible costs are substantial. Amoderate-sized spill in the Arctic, an area where threatened species are concentrated, could havedevastating effects on the Arctic ecosystem. The hazardous Arctic climate and the remotenessofdrilling sites pose huge logistical challenges to containing oil spills. A recent GAO report